The season of entrance examinations is in full bloom and the students all over the country are working extremely hard to be able to get into their dream colleges.
However, once the cut-offs are declared, students get a wide variety of choices among the colleges in various courses. Be it JEE, NEET or the newly introduced CUET, the period of counselling sessions after the cut-off declaration is a period of perplexity and stress owing to taking the right decisions about college and course. The confusion and tension is genuine, as this one decision guides your life further.
This article will sort out some of the factors that you must consider before taking admission in any college. In most probability, this article will guide you towards the right college for yourself.
Step 1: Listing and sorting
Make a list of the college-course combinations that you aspire to engage in.
After the cut-off declaration, make a list of all the colleges and courses that are being offered to you across the nation.
Out of the list of college-course offered to you, delete the pairs that you are not willing to take in any case.
- For example, if you are not willing to settle for a particular course irrespective of the college being offered with it, delete all the pairs that contain this course.
- If you are not willing to go to a particular college (due to personal reasons such as distance from home, or others) irrespective of the course it is offering, delete all the pairs with that college.
After this exercise, you will be left only with pairs of such colleges and courses where you won’t mind engaging yourself.
It is suggested that you do this exercise digitally on excel sheet for convenience.
Step 2: Search according to your priority
If the college campus and experience precede in your priority list to the course you are willing to study, search extensively about the colleges, their infrastructure, co-curricular societies, rankings, facilities and other exposure carriers.
- You may visit the official websites of all the colleges being offered to you to read about the rules, regulations and facilities.
- Read and watch student blogs and vlogs if available and contact the seniors through social media to know the reality of the college.
- Read college reviews.
- Analyse the pros and cons of each college.
However, if your priority lies in pursuing a particular course and it precedes the college experience and exposure, search extensively about the faculty, course curriculum and academic works and performance of the college.
If you don’t have a tough demarcation in terms of priority in course or college, it is usually suggested to give preference to a good college instead of preferred course, only and only if you aren’t uncomfortable in studying a less preferred course.
Since the exposure gained by college life holds a lot more importance than the academics carried out, it is suggested to give preference to a better college.
Choose out your favourite balanced combination after this exercise.
Step 3: Accommodation facilities
Check whether the hostel services are provided to all the students or not. If yes, check and compare the facilities therein – whether it is single or double occupancy, the mess facilities, recreational facilities, etc.
If not, check out the available accommodation options (PGs or Flats) nearby and their costs.
Step 4: Compare the Finances
You need to consider the affordability and financial aids provided by each college. This includes:
- The fee structure of various colleges.
- The cost of accommodation. For example, accommodation is a very big factor for the students of Delhi University.
- The scholarships provided to different sections of students in terms of merit or as affirmative actions.
Choose the combination that suits your finances well.
Step 5: Location Comparison
A big factor. Generally, two things are considered.
- If a college is in a big metropolitan city, like Delhi or Mumbai, it is usually preferred over colleges in comparatively small cities provided that all the other factors are same. This is because of better internship opportunities and exposure available there.
- Some students also consider distance from home as a big factor. However, it doesn’t make a big difference since you will be able to visit your home only in vacations irrespective of how far it is.
After analysing all these factors, you will be able to choose the best college for yourself with rational justifications. We wish you all the best for your new beginnings!
